Rearing Chicks from day old to a month and a half indoors

day one
1) mark the chicks as you bring them out of the hatcher ( if you have your own incubator) or paperbag (from Tony's hatchery etc) 2) prepare a solution of warm water (mala hininga) and add glucose or brown sugar; 3) give each chick a couple of dips of this solution, i use a small copita so that i dont have to use much glucose or brown sugar, be sure that the water is up to the brim so that it would be easy to dip the chick's bill and avoid getting water into the nostrils; 4) vaccinate against mareks disease; 5) put in the brooder where: a) there is incandescent bulbs or bumbilya, use more bulbs, ie if you have 50 chicks, use two 25 watt bulbs; brooder should be in a room or enclosure free of draft; b) there should be newspaper on the floor where you sprinkle chick booster of your choice,( my choice of course is the Thunderbird baby chick booster0; c) fresh water is given 24 hours a day, changed everytiem you feel like it, d)tutok ka rin dapat sa sisiw especially the ist 5 days of its life, replace the newspaper every now and then as they poop on it, they step into the waterer so replace the water every few hours; para kang nurse in the nursery; e) observe the chicks especially before going to bed and upon waking up to see if they are comfortable, if they bunch up together,they feel cold, if they stay away from the light source, they are overheated; f) cover the brooder with old newspapers the first day to day 3, adjusting the vent spaces to allow fresh air in; turn off the light in the daytime IF IT IS HOT. g) be sure that they have feeder troughs that are sufficient in size to accommodate them as they feed, the bigger they get, the longer the feeding trough should be, h) use more brooders as they grow bigger, i use the plastic collapsible brooder being sold now a days for the ist week of the biddies life. I) first two days, you can cram 50 chicks in one level of the 2 tiered plastic brooder, then on the 3rd day, bring the population down to 40 chicks per brooder by using more brooders. on the fifth day have 30 chicks per plastic brooder and you may introduce the feeder trough in the brooder. you can stop using the newspapers on the floor as they get used to feeding from the troughs; j) after you remove the newspapers from the flooring of the brooders,the poop will drop into the poop catcher and you have to put the newspaper on the poop catcher so that you do not have to scrape the poop from the galvanized poop catcher, just roll the newspaper together with the excess feed and poop as you did when the newspapers were on the floor; k) it is very important that you remove and replace the newspaper twice a day to avoid the ammonia from the poop catcher from causing eye irritation or pneumonities of the chicks due to ammonia inhalation;

one week old

1) at a week old you can vaccinate against gumboro and ncd, whether b1b1 and la zota later, or the Clone 30 of Intervet; 2) you can now bring the chicks to your bigger or regular brooder and fold the plastic brooder or have them ready for the next batch of chicks by cleaning and disinfecting it with any dis-infectant, I use Biocid Microban or MD, rinse very well after 5 minutes. 3) after vaccinating with mareks weakened virus, you have to give time for the chicks body to develop antigens to the virus, so avoid exposing them to adult birds for 7 to 10 days, after which you can now bring them to your regular farm or brooding area. 4) you can use an extra room in your house or garage, where you should put 2 inch thick ipa on the floor as litter. it is better to use cemented floors where you can put lime then rice hulls or ipa as litter, i use wood shavings that I get from afurniture shop, sawdust is not recommended, as the sawdust particles might clog the tear-duct of the chicks and cause conjunctivitis; 5) put a cinder block or hollow block on the floor where you can put the waterer, so that it will not be filled with ipa or wood shavings, the chicks would jump onto the hollow block and drink ; I use a ten foot long plastic pipe that is 4 inch in diameter and cut a quarter off the top to use as the feeding trough, because it is much easier to clean and the round bottom avoids the feed from caking into the corners of the galvanized troughs, if you cut it in half, it would be too shallow and the chicks will get in it and scratch the feed out of the trough and cause you a lot of money wasted and contaminate the litter much faster., naill the said plastic pipe on 3 pieces of 1" by 2" wooden slats eccentrically, or off center, so that the chicks can feed comfortably and be able to reach the bottom of the trough. the overhang of the plastic pipe trough would prevent the chicks from getting into the trough and scratching the feed out. 6) put a heat source as the biddies will not have feathered enough at one week old. I use an old 3x3 folding pen with the bottom rungs cut open to allow chicks access into the pen, i cover the 3x3 pen with cheese cloth or katsa, you may use old sacks in order to contain the heat of the bulb that you will put inside the said pen, as source of heat. both Biboy and Sonny Lagon use a hovers that are big, you can use a palanggana or water basin that is turned upside down, or batya as hover, where you put the bulb in, just make sure that your electric cord is properly insulated. 7) put bamboo or buho that are tied together to make a longtitudinal ladder, where the chicks can roost . Cool draft is the number one enemy of chicks, so wet your finger and feel if there is draft and plug the holes or close the windows if there is draft, chicks can tolerate heat, you just have to put more waterer so they do not dehydrate, but draft will stress the chicks and make them prone to disease; 9) get a spade or fork and replace (ipa or kusot) litter that gets soiled with poop or feed, the worst thing that could happen to yo is get a waterer turned over and spill water on the litter, amag or fungus will cause you irreparable damage to the biddies, as thrush is incurable. 10)be sure to vaccinate against infectious bronchitis as contaminated ipa or kusot litter could cause this condition; 11) observe the biddies if they get ruffled feathers or bloodied poop as these are signs of Coccidiosis,

better yet give anti coccidial medicine like Baxidil S E in the water 3 days in a row and fresh water for 7 to 10 days as prevention. start this program 5 days after you put them on the ground where they are most likely to get coccidial oocysts. 12) pox vaccine is given at day 15, where you can boost their NCD and Gumboro vaccine as you vaccinate newly hatched batches. 13) vaccinate against coryza prior to bringing them to the farm;

ONE VERY IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER, IT IS BETTER TO BREED LESS CHICKS IF YOU HAVE LIMITATIONS ON YOUR BUDGET OR SPACE, RATHER THAN BREEDING A LOT AND THEN USING REMEDIES LIKE CROWDING THEM TOGETHER AND CAUSE THEM TO BE IRRITABLE AND START PECKING EACH OTHER TO DEATH, OR RESORT TO BUYING CHEAP FEED IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD FEEDING SO MANY COCKERELS! USE CAREFULLY PREPARED FEED THAT HAVE ANTI-COCCIDIAL AND FORTIFIED WITH ENZYMES TO ALLOW ABSORPTION AND FEED UTILIZATION AND CONVERSION BY THE CHICKS. A FRIEND OF MINE USED SOME CHEAP FEED AND THE AFLATOXIN IN THE FEED CAUSED GIZZARD EROSION, AND THE CHICKS DIED OF IT, HE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY IN TRYING TO SAVE THE BIDDIES WITH ANTIBIOTICS, ANTI COCCIDIALS, WHEN THE CULPRIT TURNED OUT TO BE CHEAP FEED WITH CONTAMINATED CORN GRITS . THE BIDDIES STOPPED DYING WHEN THEY REPLACED THE CHEAP FEED WITH THE MORE POPULAR BRAND THAT I AM NOW USING. THE FEED IS VERY IMPORTANT, I AM BREEDING THE SAME BREEDS OF GAME FOWL , BUT AFTER SWITCHING TO THE POPULAR BRAND THAT I AM NOW ENDORSING, MY STAGS ARE A COUPLE OF SCALES TALLER THAN BEFORE, AND THEIR PERFORMANCE AT THE PIT IMPROVED A LOT. QUESTION- IS IT THE FEED? MUST BE!!! REMEBER THE ADAGE- YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

it is getting late so ABANGAN ANG SUSUNOD NA KABANATA NG DAY TO DAY REARING OF CHICKS!- introducing the cockerels to the farm walks![size=18]

b]INTRODUCING

YOUR COCKERELS TO THE RANGE- RANGING YOUR

COCKERELS[/b]
PREPARE THE FOLLOWING, AS THEY MUST BE ON HAND BY THE TIME YOU BRING THE CHICKS TO THE RANGE AREA 1) SHELTER-pens cages hut, barn etc. kung saan di sila mabubugbog ng hangin ; ( I use my flypens na may bubong at may takip na tarpaulin ang paligid, at may kusot sa lupa; 2) SOURCE OF WARMTH-may hover na malapit sa lupa, maaaring batya na itinaob or palangganang luma, ang gamit ko ay lumang 3x3 collapsible pen na binalot ko ng katsa or sako, may awang sa ibaba, sapat para makapasok ang mga sisiw at kumubli sa tbi ng ilaw na nakabitin sa loob ng nasabing covered3X3 or hover;. 3) ROOST may parang hagdanan na mga buho, kung saan sila puwedeng humapon para magpahinga sa araw man o sa gabi; 4) FEEDERsapat na haba ng pakainan, dapat, kapag chow-time na, kakasya silang kumain ng tabi-tabi or magkakatabi, therefore mas marami sila, mas mahaba ang patukaan, kawayang pinutol sa gawng itaas at parang bangkang malukong para di makahig ng sisiw ang patuka palabas; 5)WATERER sapat na dami ng painuman na nakabitin at di makababasa ng kusot. 6) ang bakuran na nakapaligid sa mga sisiwan ay dog-proof, may yero sa bottom ng net or may cyclone wire, pwede na rin ang hog-wire sa ibaba at nang di mapasok ng aso, kung hindi, paapasukin itong mga sisw at lulurayin at pag-lalaruan ng mga aso ang mga ito, sayang ang pagod at hirap mo sa pagpapasisiw! 7) MEDICINE AND SUPPLEMENTS naka-ready na ang mga sumusunod na mga gmot: a) anti-coccidial- Baxidil SE,/ Noxal/, Axyillin/ESB3/ amprolium/ Pyristat/Gycox/Baycox; matapos ibaba sa lupa ang mga sisiw, bumilang ng 5 days or isang linggo at umpisahan ang bacterial flushing; Bacterial flushing- pagbibigay ng preventive dose every now and then to prevent coccidiosis from kiling your birds; 3 days in a row, give preventive dose, then rest for 10 to 14 days and repeat. note: nakakasira ng bato ng mga sisiw at nakababansot kung masiyadong maaga at matagal ang bigay ng sulpha based products. b) antibiotics- Vetracin premium/ vetracin gold/ ambroxytil/ tylosin- amoxycillin (amtyl)/ Doxylak/Trisullak/Cipotryl/ Terramycin LA/ Baytril kapag nagbigay ng antibiotics, siguruhin na gumagaang na ang pakiramdam ng mga sisiw by day 3, kung hindi switch kayo sa susunod na gamot. Note: kapag nagbigay ng antibiotic- kumpletuhin ang 5 days to 7 days na regimen para maiwasan ang immunity development ng mga bacteria sa gamot na gamit.

c) vitamins and electrolytes: kapag nag vaccinate, nag move ng sisiw, or na stress dahil sa lakas ng hangin or sobrang init ng panahon, magbigay ng electrolytes, mayroon ang Thunder bird ng Electrogen D+; d) pamurga- purgahin ang mga sisiw kapag napansin na maputla sila, pNF AIAIW ng gamitin at huwag ang pang-adults; e) umpisahan ang probiotics- kaparis ng nabanggit ko na datiPROBIOTICS- maglugaw ng isang kilong binlid or ground rice, palamigin ang lugaw at dagdagan ng 5 boteng yakult or chamyto,after 5 days, haluan ng equal amount of molasses. ibigay sa tubig or patuka 1 tablespoon per gallon of water. or simply buy probiotic productr of Thunderbird. F) QUALITY FEED- by this time unti unti mo na silang i-swith sa stag developer, tandaan, bawal magtipid. ang grains puwedeng ilahok after 2 months old na sila para lumaki ng husto; g) BREEDER/RAISER BOYS- mga taong matiyaga at masipag at dedicated sa mga manok> dapat ay tutok. kasing importante ng raiser at breeder ng cockerels at chix ang trainer, dahil kapag walang stags walang i te train. bigyan ng incentive ang naturang tao para magkaparami ka ng mga cockerel into stags! kung nagbibigay ng per win sa trainer, magbigay ng per stag raised to maturity ang raiser of our gamefowl. ako ay 10% ang ibinibigay ko sa mga breeder/raiser ko- 30 heads kapag nakapagtali ng 300 heads.

SOURED OATS, ANYONE?

I LEARNED FROM MY AMERICAN FRIENDS TO FEED SOURED OATS TO THE BIDDIES. 1) BUY OATS FROM THE FEEDSTORE, JOCKEY OATS OR WHOLE OATS PARA MAS MURA. 2)WASH THE OATS AND PUT IN A JAR OR PAIL AND PUT WATER UP TO THE BRIM. 3) IBABAD SA TUBIG NG 3 TO 5 DAYS, ALAM MO NANG FERMENTED ITO DAHIL NAPAKABAHO! 4) KAPAG IPAKAKAIN NA SA COCKERELS, HUGASAN MUNA NG TUBIG NG ILANG BESES NOTE: PUWEDE NIYONG SAMAHAN ANG PINANIS NA OATS NG MGA SUMUSUNOD: A) YAKULT OR CHAMYTO B) GATAS NA PINULBOS ( POWDERED MILK, WHETHER SKIM OR WHOLE MILK; C) VITAMIN/ MINERALS SUPPLEMENTS; D) ANY MEDICATION NA POWDERED NA IBIBIGAY NIYO SA KANILA! MANNER OF FEEDING- ILAHOK NG 20% SA INYONG STAG DEVELOPER ( I LATA SA APAT NA LATANG STAG DEVELOPER) GUMAMIT NG MARAMING LATA AT MAGPANIS NG MARAMING BATCHES PARA MASIGURONG PANTAY ANG PAGKAPANIS NITO! TANONG- ANO ANG ADVANTAGE NG SOURED OATS? 1) IT BREAKS DOWN THE OATS AND MAKE IT EASIER TO DIGEST AND ASSIMILATED BY THE COCKERELS;

2) MAPAPANSIN NIYO NA GUSTONG GUSTO NG MGA SISIW ITO.

OAT NA PINATUBO NG KAUNTI (PARANG TOGE)

I LEARNED FROM ONE OF MY MENTORS, DON CONRADO FERRER, WHO GROWS OATS TO MIX WITH THE FEED! 1) IBABAD SA TUBIG NG MGA 2 ORAS; 2) ILAGAY SA ISANG LALAGYAN KAPARIS NG JUTE SACK(STYLE NG MGA KANO); 30 NAKAKITA KASI AKO KUNG PAPANO MAG PATUBO NG TOGE, KAYA ANG GINAGAMIT KO NUON AY BANGA NA MAY BUTAS SA ILALIM, 4) PUWEDE RIN ANG MASETERA NA TANIMAN NG MGA HALAMAN; 5) LAGYAN LANG NG SCREEN ANG BUTAS PARA DI LUMABAS ANG OATS; 6) BUHUSAN NG TUBIG EVERY NOW AND THEN, MGA 3 HOURS INTERVAL; 7) PAG TUMUBO NA ANG OATS, IPAKAIN SA COCKERELS. NUONG ARAW KASI, PURO GRAINS LANG IPINAKAKAIN NG MGA KANO, ANG ISINASAMA NILA DITO AY CALF MANNA AT FINISHING RATION PELLETS. DITO SA ATIN SA PINAS, ANG ISINASAMA NAMIN SA PALAY AT MAIS AY LAYING MASH LAMANG. KAPAG PANLABAN NA, KAPAG NAGPAPALAKI PALAMANG AY BROILER MASH. PURO SAN MIGUEL OR BMEG ANG GUMAGAWA NITO! NGAYON, NAGSASAMA PA RIN AKO NG SOURED OATS SA PAGKAIN ( STAG DEVELOPER) NG MGA COCKERELS. PAG NAGLAHOK NG GRANO (GRAINS) SA PAGKAIN NG COCKERELS, SIGURUHIN LANG NA 20% MAXIMUM LANG ANG LAHOK PARA DI MAAAPEKTUHAN ANG CP NILA. KAPAG ABENANG PINANIS (SOURED OATS) OKAY LANG NA 25% ANG LAHOK, KASI SINASAMAHAN MO NAMAN NG GATAS.[b]

WHEN DO YOU CATCH THE BABY STAGS ON THE RANGE AND WHICH DO YOU CHOOSE?
1) IF ONE OR MORE START TO BULLY THE OTHERS TO THE POINT THAT SOME BABY STAGS WON'T COME DOWN FROM THEIR ROOST, THEN IT IS TIME TO HARVEST THE BIG ROBUST ONES! 2) OF COURSE ONCE YOU GET THE KING OF THE RANGE OR ROOST, THE REMAINDERS WILL FIGHT AMONG THEMSELVES AND RE-ESTABLISH THE NEW PECKING ORDER. 3) DO NOT WAIT FOR THEM TO FIGHT EACH OTHER TOO LONG AND RUIN GOOD STAGS JUST BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO HARVEST THEM WHEN IT IS TIME ! 4) BE SURE THAT EVERY BABY STAG GETS AMPLE FOOD, THEREFORE, YOUR FEEDING THROUGHS

SHOULD BE ADEQUATE AND SET APART FROM EACH OTHER, TO ENABLE ALL COCKERELS TO EAT; 5) IF THERE ARE TOO MANY COCKERELS IN ONE BUNCH AND THE QUALITY OF THE STAGS SUFFER DUE TO OVER-CROWDING, THEN IT IS TIME TO GET RID OF THE RUNTS WHICH YOU MAY GIVE TO YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS, AS THEY WILL NOT REACH THE MINIMUM WEIGHT REQUIREMENT OF THE STAG DERBIES. IF YOU GIVE THEM AWAY, IT MIGHT GIVE THEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO CATCH UP IF YOU GIVE THEM TO AN OLD COCKER WHO HAS A FEW STAGS AND COULD FEED THE SAID RUNT WITH TENDER LOVING CARE, IT WILL ALSO BRING UP THE QUALITY OF YOUR STAGS IN THE YARD, NA-AALIS ANG MGA CULLS, GUMAGANDA LAMANG ANG RESULTA NG BREEDING PROGRAM MO. 6) CHECK THE WINGBANDS OF THE BABY STAGS AS YOU HARVEST THEM, IF THEY LOST THE BANDS, THEN YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY USE FOR THEM AND SHOULD BE GIVEN AWAY. NEVER TRY TO RE-ATTACH WINGBANDS THAT WERE DETACHED FOR GETTING CAUGHT IN THE NET ETC, AS YOU WILL ONLY BE DISQUALIFIED FROM ANY ASSOCIATION WHEN THIS IS DISCOVERED. AVOID THE EMBARASSMENT THAT HAPPENED TO MY FRIEND, KASI ANG MAPAGMARUNONG NIYANG HANDLER AY INIKABIT ULIT ANG WINGBAND NA NATANGGAL SA PAKPAK NG MANOK NILA, HAYUN- NA DISQUALIFY NA , TINAGGAL PA NAMIN SA ASOSASYON NAMIN. KAWAWA NAMAN. 7) THIN, SICKLY AND BAD POSTURED STAGS, WITH APPARENT DEFECTS IN THEIR CONFORMATION AND GAIT SHOULD BE DISPOSED OFF AS SOON AS YOU NOTICE THE SAID IMPERFECTION/IMPERFECTIONS. DO YOUR OWN CULLING IN THE FARM, DO NOT GO TO THE COCKPIT AND PAY YOUR ADVERSARY MONEY JUST TO CULL YOUR REJECTS! ILUTO MO NA LANG, DI PA SASAMA ANG LOOB MO KAPAG NATALO KA. REMEMBER,KUNG IYONG SUPER MO NA MGA MANOK, NATATALO, EH DI LALU NA NAMAN ANG REJECTS MO AT MGA REGULAR AT BINGENG MANOK!.. 9) PUT THEM IN A HARDENING PEN AND TIE A SHORT CHORD ON THEIR LEGS TO ACCUSTOM THEM WITH THE LEG-HITCH OR TIE- OUT CHORD. 10) IF YOU PUT UP A HEN WITH THEM FOR HARDENING , PUT THEM TOGETHER FOR A FEW DAYS ONLY, AS THE BABY STAGS MIGHT STARVE AND GET THIN, AS MOST WILL ALLOW THE HENS TO EAT ALL THE FEED YOU PUT IN THE PEN